I intended to buy Barirah but her masters stipulated that her Wala should be for them. When the
Prophet was told about it, he said to me, "Buy and manumit her, as the Wala' is for the liberator."
Once Barirah was given some meat, and the Prophet (ﷺ) asked, "What is this?" I said, "It has been given
to Barirah in charity." He said, "It is sadaqa for her but a gift for us." Barirah was given the option (to
stay with her husband or to part with him). `Abdur-Rahman (a sub-narrator) wondered, "Was her
husband a slave or a free man?" Shu`ba (another sub-narrator) said, "I asked `Abdur-Rahman whether
her husband was a slave or a free man. He replied that he did not know whether he was a slave or a
free man."
Sahih al-Bukhari Book 51, Hadith 13